Caffeine Crew Reads discussion

We're going to start with The Maze Runner. I've heard good things about it, there's a movie coming out for it soon and, well, dystopian YA just tends to be fun.

So here's the plan!

We begin reading the book starting August 1st and at the end of the month, we'll discuss!

Feel free to post non-spoiler updates about progress, thoughts so far, etc.

I'm 10% in, so far. It's reminding me a lot of Lord of the Flies. The lack of answers is driving me crazy because I'm impatient as anything, but I'll definitely say it's interesting. I don't really feel attached to anyone yet, but I'm not sure if that's the focus of the book--it's seeming more plot driven than character.

So, I'm now at 47%....if you hold out until 35-40% in, shit gets real interesting-it's where the action finally picks up.

So I'm 50% of the way through Maze Runner and so far it's ok. I was getting really fed up with the whole "Answer my questions." "No. You know nothing Jon Snow." "That's because you won't answer my shucking questions!!"

I'll finish the book because it's a very quick read but I'm salty about basically the first half of the book.

Right? Ha, that pretty much describes my frustrations with it. Dude, I get so crankers about not getting any freakin questions answered and you're following a main character who's annoyed at not getting his questions answered either.

I'm at 84% now and the plot is in full swing. I'm still not super attached to the characters, but the puzzle of the maze and the surrounding events are interesting. I think at this point, it's safe to say I'm curious enough to finish the book, but I probably won't continue the series.

Aaaaaand, finished!!

Hey there, little bit late to the party! Just finished the book. Really enjoyed the concept. But, to be honest, I really did not like the main character. I think the author put quite a bit of distance between the reader and Thomas, and didn't really allow us to feel as though we were experiencing the story through him, but were rather being told the story. As a result I felt pretty detached to Thomas. And he seemed to be quite inconsistent, or his emotional state seemed to change quickly, I hate chuck I like chuck etc.

What did you guys think?

I completely felt the same! It's why I wouldn't continue on in the series, even though they leave it on an intriguing note. I just didn't connect with the characters enough to care.

I wound up purchasing the trilogy and read through the other two. The issues relating to Thomas's character continue throughout. I think the author wanted to have Thomas's thought process abstract and hard to follow to show his uniqueness. It becomes more story related later, but is never apparently intentional.

So I am way behind in reading (this is a common theme for me as I read so much for my students that when I get to read what I want I'm exhausted) but I'm about halfway. Knowing in advance that I would be lost and confused the whole book (I've graded a number of projects on it) is helping me appreciate it more. I'm taking it more like an action movie, where I don't really understand everything but really like the chase scenes. I'm enjoying it more than I thought I would.

I recently saw the trailer for the movie and am actually quite excited. I felt like they had tapped into my visualizations for the movie.

Speaking of, we should do a movie date for it!!

Doug, I could totally see that being the intent! It's a shame the writing/characters didn't hook me because the plot was interesting.

Amy, actually, despite my feelings on the book, I DO want to see the movie. Most of my issues revolve around Thomas's internal monologue and not connecting to the characters, but a good actor can add layers while tackling the interesting plot. We should totally do a movie date!

I so want to see the movie, it looks awesome! I think because the concept is such an awesomely unique idea, it won't matter that we felt distanced from the main character in the book. :)so excited for its release.